Texas mom arrested for allegedly mixing drink that sent bullied son's classmate to hospital
A Texas mom allegedly gave her son a mixed drink disguised in a sports bottle in an effort to prevent bullies at school from stealing the drink from her child, officials said Tuesday.
Jennifer Lynn Rossi, 45, allegedly combined lemon, salt and vinegar, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said. The contents were not toxic, but a child who drank the mixed beverage was hospitalized. A school official said the drink was confiscated after the incident.
An 11-year-old student allegedly first stole a drink belonging to Rossi's son on Monday, according to the arrest warrant. After Rossi's son told her what happened, she allegedly came up with the mixed drink idea.
"Whether the allegations of bullying at the root of this situation are substantiated or not, there is never an excuse to take matters into your own hands and injure a child," Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
The police investigation at Legacy Traditional School - Alamo Ranch began Tuesday after reports of a sick child, authorities said. Once they arrived, deputies learned that the sick child was given the doctored drink by a classmate during gym class.
The sickened 11-year-old said he took a large sip then spat it out because it tasted bad, according to the arrest warrant. He developed a headache and started to feel nauseated shortly after drinking the concoction, officials said. The student has since been discharged from the hospital and is doing well, CBS affiliate KENS-TV reported.
Rossi was charged with injury to a child causing bodily injury. She has since posted bond.
She told officials that she's a nurse and knew that the mixture she made was nontoxic, according to the arrest warrant.
"Jennifer Rossi stated she takes full responsibility for what happened," officials wrote in the warrant.
Her son "will be subject to disciplinary actions in accordance with Legacy policies governing student conduct," a school official said.